Cracks have conspicuously appeared among the ranks of the stakeholders of the belligerent leadership of the Academics Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over its management of the current industrial action.
This is largely due to the management of the crisis by the leadership of the union, which is now under the microscopic radar, while discontent keeps rising among various supporting flanks of the academic union.
Many critical stakeholders and members have started showing displeasure over Prof. Osodeke led-leadership’s
management style of the one hundred and ninety-five-day-old strike.
Frustrated by Prof. Osodeke’s unguarded outbursts, the Nation Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has backed out of the action declared since February 14. It urged all state-owned universities to resume academic activities, describing the “total and indefinite strike” declared by ASUU as “unpatriotic and wicked.”
Asefon alleged that the decision to extend the industrial action after six months was easy for ASUU because they keep employment at various private universities around the country.
He said, “We have taken the time to review the decision of ASUU to declare an indefinite strike after the ongoing six-month strike. “We consider the decision not only unpatriotic, unnecessary but wicked and definitely not in the interest of our nation nor the tertiary education system in Nigeria.”
“We call on the State Government to forthwith liaise with Vice-Chancellors of state institutions to announce the resumption of academic activities and grant the Vice-Chancellors authority to enforce the resumption as state universities should never have joined the strike in the first place,” Asefon added.
The union started losing sympathy with a comment allegedly made by its National President, Prof. Osodeke, on August 26, where he referred to state-owned varsities in Nigeria as “irrelevant and quacks” allegedly for backing out of the ongoing strike action embarked upon by the union since February 14.
The NANS President, Sunday Asefon, stated this in a statement on Wednesday (August 31)) obtained by www.focusmagazinesoline.com adding that Osodeke during an interview on Arise News had said, “Kwara State University is not a member of ASUU, they’ve not joined, you can check. Osun State University was suspended from ASUU for misbehaviour, you can check. In LASU that you mentioned, we are in court with LASU because they sacked all our executives more than five years ago, so they were not part of this struggle.
“Ekiti State University ASUU doesn’t run a university, the government has a right to say we have reopened, and our members have the right to say that’s good for you, we are not teaching, we are on strike, as it happened in Gombe State University, as it happened in Yobe State University, you can go and check, as it happened in Kaduna State University, so don’t cite those examples, they are irrelevant.”
He added, “Talk about the issue, is Ibadan on strike, is UNN on strike, is ABU on strike, is BUK on strike, is Maiduguri on strike, is Lagos on strike, let us talk about the important ones not those quacks.”
This statement enraged not a few stakeholders. Immediately the Vice Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof. Odunayo Clement Adebooye picked the gauntlet.
The VC described the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Osodeke as a “loose and careless talker”.
He disclosed that UNIOSUN has employed a total of 481 full-time academic staff, of which 387 among them hold Ph.D. “This is not a quack.”
Prof. Adeboye, while reacting to the ASUU president’s statement, said Osun State University takes very serious exceptions for having mentioned the institution as a quack university and demanded the withdrawal of the statement from Professor Osodeke.
According to him, the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUA), where the ASUU President teaches, does not have UNIOSUN’s achievements.
“ASUU President should go and check my profile, I cannot preside on quack university. He has expressed his opinion and that is his, the University he teaches does not have our achievements.
“He was here this year and commended the quality of what he saw here, the infrastructure, only a few universities. Osun state university takes very serious exceptions for having mentioned the institution as a quack university.
“He shouldn’t talk about what he doesn’t know if he wants to continue being a true professor. A true professor finds facts and bases of whatever they say, he should get educated, I challenge him to get educated.
“Referring UNIOSUN as a quack university is a careless statement and not expected from ASUU President who is a professor; who must not make a statement without facts.” the VC said.
Kaduna State University (KASU) followed suit almost immediately, taking exceptions to being branded a “quacks” institution, saying the ASUU’s alleged description of the university staff as “quacks” was enough reason for its academic staff to pull out of the Union.
The Kaduna State University’s spokesman, Adamu Bargo, said such a statement from the president does not in any way bring a better and improved educational system in Nigeria. It was uttered for personal and irresponsible aggrandizement.
KASU, according to Bargo, resumed in good conscience in the interest of the students.
He maintained that the resumption should not be a reason for insults from the president.
The management of Ekiti State University (EKSU) was not ready to allow the derisive comment to go unreplied. It viewed the denigrating remark about some universities, coming from the National President of ASUU as unfortunate, reckless, and unwarranted.
According to Bode Olofinmuagun,
Head, Directorate of Information and Corporate Affairs, the University is currently the 14th-best university in Nigeria out of about 200 universities (federal, state, and private) and the 2nd-best state university according to the recent Webometric ranking of universities.
Apart from the above, the university (EKSU) has nearly all its academic programmes accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and relevant professional regulatory bodies. The university is proud to have many top-rated globally recognised academics, and its alumni are making waves both nationally and internationally.
Therefore, categorizing EKSU as among the quack and irrelevant universities is a testimony to the fact that the ASUU President is probably uninformed and/or bereft of ideas. This arrant nonsense coming from Comrade Osodeke is totally unacceptable and condemnable.
The Management calls on Professor Osodeke to toe the path of honour by retracting the provocative remark and tender an unreserved apology without further delay.
The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-owned Universities, (COPSUN) has also come out and condemned the National President of ASUU for describing state-owned universities as “irrelevant and quacks”.
Reacting, Marcus Awobifa, Secretary of the group, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said membership of the union is voluntary as such creative approaches must be developed to confront the problems of the university system in the country.
The statement said: “The pro-chancellors of our state universities and, indeed, members of the councils are distinguished and accomplished eminent persons who have served and are still serving this nation in many capacities.”
“Amongst the members are retired ambassadors, retired generals in the armed forces, retired vice-chancellors, Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), renowned politicians, and other distinguished professionals.
“It is therefore insulting, contemptuous, and unbecoming for the president of ASUU to state that these esteemed individuals are presiding over quack and inconsequential universities,” he said.
www.focusmagazinesoline.com recalled that Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU National President, said in a statement on Monday (August 29)) that the National Executive Council of the union, after a marathon meeting in Abuja, FCT, “resolved to transmute the roll-over strike to a comprehensive, total, and indefinite strike action beginning from 12.01 a.m. on Monday, August 29th, 2022.”
Osodeke said the union has endured a “lot of deceit of the highest level in the last five and half years as the Federal Government of Nigeria engaged ASUU in fruitless and unending negotiation without a display of utmost fidelity.”
ASUU embarked on a strike on February 14, 2022, over a number of issues, including the non-payment of Revitalization Fund and Earned Academic Allowances as well as the non-adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution over the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
www.focusmagazinesoline.com (C2022)
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